your aunt’s letter on the dashboard before I had time to grab my hat. And once I got here—well, it wasn’t too hard to find somebody who’d point me to Breezy Meadow. But I’ll tell you, when I pulled into that trailer park and saw you standing on that porch, all I wanted to do was grab you, put you in my rental car, and drive like hell out of there.”
He stared at her long and hard, nodding. “But it turns out you didn’t need me at all.”
Jess shook her head, remembering how relieved she’d been to hear his voice on those steps, how beautiful it had felt to have his arm slip around her and pull her close.
“I think I did need you, Cole.”
He laughed softly, and then his face grew serious. “So what’s next, cowgirl? Are you heading back to Boston?”
She paused. No way did she want to head back to Boston right now. Not alone. “Why? Do you have a better idea?”
“I have a lot of better ideas. Front and center would be heading back to the airport and taking you back to Whisper Creek.”
“Ooh, I don’t know. It’s a long trip.” She couldn’t hide her smile from sneaking out. There was nothing in the world she’d rather do at this moment than head back to where the skies were impossibly blue, the grass rolled endlessly toward the majestic mountains, and the days were filled with laughter and love and hot, hot cowboys.
He squeezed her fingers gently. “Is there anything I can do to convince you?”
“Well, you could kiss me. That seems to work pretty well.”
He slid out of the booth and put some bills on the table, then reached for her hand. Without even thinking twice, she slid her hand into his and closed her eyes, just reveling in the sensation of not being—scared.
He pulled her up out of her seat and hugged her close. “Come back to Whisper Creek, Jess. Please come back with me, and let’s just see what happens. No pressure, no expectations. Let’s just see.”
“Okay.” The word flew out of her mouth, and she knew it surprised him.
“Okay? That’s it? Easy as that?”
“There’s nothing easy about it. But it’s where I want to be right now. If you’ll still have me, I want to go back. I really do.” She smiled as she pulled him toward the door. “Plus, it turns out I forgot all my clothes. I need to go back anyway.”
When they got outside the door, she stopped, looking up at him. “Thank you for coming.”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“I know. Kyla had you on the road before you had your hat on. I know.”
“That’s not what I meant.” He tipped up her chin. “I didn’t have a choice because the moment I realized you’d left, the only place I wanted to be was wherever you were. I would have chased you a lot farther than”—he looked around—“where were we, exactly?”
Jess laughed. “Smugglers’ Gully.”
“Who names these southern towns?”
“Seriously? You live in Carefree, Montana. Who named that?”
He smiled down at her. “Come home with me, Jess. Really come home.”
She breathed in slowly, taking her time. “I can’t make any promises, cowboy.”
Chapter 31
“A toast!” Decker held up his glass, motioning for everyone else at the table to do the same. Jess looked around, smiling as she scanned the faces gathered on this Christmas Eve at Whisper Creek. They’d just stuffed themselves full of ham, turkey, a gazillion vegetables, and four kinds of pie, and the atmosphere was warm and festive.
At Decker’s left, Kyla sipped hot cider, smiling and more serene than Jess had ever seen her. Daniel and Hayley sat next, with their girls, and Cole had opted for the chair right next to Jess’s. Ma sat at the end of the table closest to the kitchen, but her sons had convinced her to stay put in her chair and let them do the work for once. It was almost working, but she kept casting nervous glances every time the swinging doors opened, like she expected one of these times the whole kitchen was going to be on fire.
Jess thought back to all the years she’d spent pretending to be happy alone, all the Christmases she’d spent eating cold tuna in an even colder dorm, or hiding under her bed so a liquored-up Roxie wouldn’t find her.
But now here she was, surrounded by a huge, loving, laughing family who’d opened their arms to her like she’d belonged to them from the start.